Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for September 2018

Bruins Notes: Seguin, Heinen, Krejci, Leach, McQuaid

at CDT | by 4 Comments

With Dallas Stars’ Tyler Seguin showing unhappiness recently that he hasn’t signed an extension yet, speculation is beginning to increase that Seguin may be considering taking the same course that John Tavares took this offseason before eventually signing a seven-year, $77MM deal. Seguin, who is coming off a 40-goal, 78-point season and at 26 years old, could garner as much as Tavares after his contract expires at the end of the year.

The Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy writes that while the team did make an offer to Tavares, he doesn’t think it would make sense to make a similar offer to the former Bruin. The scribe does admit that Peter Chiarelli made a big mistake when he and Boston’s brass traded away Seguin, who at 21, showed immaturity and a lack of professionalism. A more mature Seguin has shown over the last five years that the Bruins probably should have held onto him. Regardless, Conroy said Seguin wouldn’t be worth such a big, long-term deal, although a rental situation at the trade deadline might be a different story.

NBC Sports’ Joe Haggerty adds that he also wouldn’t recommend for Boston to attempt to bring Seguin back despite the fact that he still has several friends on the team, including Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. While current GM Don Sweeney was just an assistant GM when Seguin was traded, there are still enough personnel remaining in the organization that probably wouldn’t want Seguin to return to the franchise. However, he added never say never.

  • Joe McDonald of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Bruins are still considering whether they want to break up their top line after their super line of Bergeron, Marchand and David Pastrnak were shut down by the Tampa Bay Lightning, and no other line was able to step up. The idea has been suggested to move Pastrnak to the second line to create a more balanced attack. If that’s the case, McDonald feels that Danton Heinen might be ready to replace Pastrnak on the first line. Heinen had a solid rookie season, scoring 16 goals and 47 points last season.
  • Haggerty also wonders how much longer center David Krejci can hold onto the No. 2 center position? The team made an obvious attempt to sign Tavares this offseason, suggesting that they are interested in eventually moving on from Krejci in that spot with the hopes of dropping him to their third line. However, at the moment, they lack a player who is ready to challenge him for that spot. The team’s third-line center position is going to be a battle among rookies, including Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic.
  • The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) writes that Providence Bruins’ coach Jay Leach continues to work to develop those three prospect centers. The coach has been sending Forsbacka Karlsson, Studnicka and Frederic videos of Bergeron, the young Bergeron, for the three to study in hopes of teaching them everything they need to know about adjusting to the NHL. “Honestly, if you’re looking for a centerman to show you how to do things,” Leach said of Bergeron, “this is the guy. Just little things of nuances this guy can do.”
  • In another article, Haggerty questions whether defenseman Adam McQuaid will remain with the Boston Bruins. With eight viable blueliners on the roster, McQuaid, who has played nine seasons in Boston, could find himself elsewhere by the start of the season. The 6-foot-4 physical grinder only saw 38 games last season and with a plethora of right-shot defensemen, he could be the player to sit in the press box on most nights unless the team attempts to find him a better home. The team already has Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Kevan Miller on the right side, which also was a reason why McQuaid saw his minutes drop from 18:15 to 15:42 last season. However, the 31-year-old still managed to get 80 hits and block 56 shots last season, which could make him an option for a team looking for defensive depth and a penalty killing option.

Alexei Emelin Signs Three-Year Pact With KHL’s Avangard Omsk

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Long-time Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin agreed to terms this morning with Avangard Omsk, one day after the KHL team signed Kris Versteeg. The 32-year-old Emelin, who played six years in Montreal and then finished out his contract last year with the Nashville Predators, was having trouble finding work in the NHL, but opted to return to the KHL where he played parts of eight seasons.

Emelin arrived in the NHL at age 25, but almost immediately stepped into the Canadiens’ top-four and averaged close to 20 minutes a night throughout most of his NHL career. However, Montreal opted to expose Emelin and his $4.1MM contract in the expansion draft last year and Vegas took the bait, selecting him and then flipping him to Nashville for a third-round pick in the 2019 draft. The Predators brought the veteran defenseman on board to provide top-four depth while Ryan Ellis sat out for the first three months of the season after undergoing knee surgery. Emelin did that, but saw his minutes decrease significantly once Ellis returned as he was forced into the team’s third-line pairing.

Once a free agent, the 32-year-old struggled finding work as his lack of speed worked against him in a league where teams are looking to get faster. Emelin, however, showed he still has value as he managed to register 181 hits as well as blocking 109 shots last season, suggesting he should continue to fare well in the KHL. While Emelin will join Versteeg, he will also join up with two former Habs as well, including Alexander Perezhogin and David Desharnais.

Sampo Ranta Joins The University Of Minnesota

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Colorado Avalanche prospect Sampo Ranta has finally landed with the right college program. The 2018 third-round pick was originally committed to the University of Wisconsin, but was released from his National Letter of Intent earlier this summer. Intrigue surrounded the young forward, with speculation that he could land with a number of top schools. However, he has finally made a decision; Randy Johnson of the Star Tribune writes that Ranta has officially joined the Gophers of the University of Minnesota.

Ranta, 18, is a Finnish native, but has already been playing in the United States for the past couple of years. The sharp-shooting left wing made the jump overseas in 2016 to join the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. Although he was drafted into the CHL, Ranta continued to focus on the college route and remained with Sioux City. Last season, he finished second on the Musketeers with 37 points and was a top 20 goal scorer in the league with 23 tallies, despite missing time while playing at the World Juniors.

He now brings that same offensive punch to one of the more historic hockey programs in the NCAA. Playing with the Gophers, Ranta will be surrounded by other talented young forwards like recent NHL draft picks Rem Pitlick (NSH, 2016), Thomas Novak (NSH, 2015), Brent Gates (ANA, 2015), and Scott Reedy (SJ, 2017). The scoring forward promises to be a thorn in the side of the Wisconsin Badgers and many more teams over the next few collegiate season. Ranta and company hope they bring enough to the table this season to get the Gophers back to the NCAA Tournament.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Tampa Bay Lightning

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Current Projected Cap Hit: $76,853,780 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry Level Contracts

D Mikhail Sergachev (two years, $894K)
F Anthony Cirelli (two years, $728K)
F Brayden Point (one year, $687K)

Potential Bonuses:

Sergachev: $850K
Cirelli: $183K
Point: $183K

Total: $1.22MM

After a impressive rookie campaign, the Lightning knew they had a special player in Point, who proceeded to have a breakout year as the team’s second-line center. Point, who is good enough to be a No. 1 center, provided the team with a 32-goal, 66-point season. Now in his third year, Point could really walk away with a huge payday if he can equal or even better on that performance this year. Cirelli looks to have the third-line center spot locked down after the 21-year-old had a successful, but short stint, last season. He posted five goals and 11 points in 18 games last season and played in all 17 games of the playoffs, adding a pair of goals.

Sergachev has two years remaining on his contract and the 20-year-old defenseman had an up and down season, but still posted a nine-goal, 40-point season. He did have trouble getting regular minutes as the team often lost faith in his defensive play along with some immaturity issues. Regardless, the left-handed shot actually proved to head coach Jon Cooper that he can play on the right side, solving their depth issues on the right side. Sergachev should continue to develop his skills and also be in line for a big payday in two years.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry Level

D Anton Stralman ($4.5MM, UFA)
D Braydon Coburn ($3.7MM, UFA)
D Dan Girardi ($3MM, UFA)
F Yanni Gourde ($1MM, UFA)
F Cedric Paquette ($1MM, RFA)
D Slater Koekkoek ($865K, RFA)
D Jake Dotchin ($813K, RFA)
F Adam Erne ($800K, RFA)
F Andy Andreoff ($678K, UFA)
F Cory Conacher ($650K, UFA)

For a team known for its defensive depth on its defense, it’s a little shocking to see that they only have three players signed after the 2018-19 season. Almost all of the team’s defense become free agents, restricted or otherwise, including Stralman, Coburn, Girardi, Koekkoek and Dotchin. With the team heavily laden in long-term deals, the team might be willing to allow Stralman, Coburn and Girardi to walk at the end of the year. All three are solid players, but there might not be any cap room to extend any of them, especially if the team has to give long-term deals to both Sergachev and Point. Stralman’s situation will be the most interesting as he’s a solid defenseman that complements his partner quite well and was the veteran who mentored Sergachev last season. Coburn and Girardi are likely expendable. Koekkoek and Dotchin will only be restricted free agents, but neither got a lot of playing time with the team, especially after the team added defensive talent at the trade deadline. However, both could play bigger roles this year, or within two years.

Another interesting decision the team will have to make is Gourde, who posted a breakout season in his first full season. The 26-year-old spent many years working on his game in the AHL before finally catching on with the Syracuse Crunch in 2014. From there he worked his way up before catching the team’s eye in training camp to win a spot. The result was a 25-goal, 64-point performance and now he has to prove he can duplicate that performance this season to get a big boost in his pay. For $1MM, Gourde may be the best bargain on the team, but he could get pricey quickly.Read more

Metropolitan Notes: Columbus’ Defense, Maatta, Butcher, Kreider

at CDT | by 4 Comments

With losses of both Jack Johnson and Ian Cole this offseason, the Columbus Blue Jackets will have some changes on their defense. Those changes could alter the entire defense, as head coach John Tortorella said recently in a Q&A with The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required). In fact, Tortorella said he will have to consider whether he’s ready to break up his two star defensemen in Seth Jones and Zach Werenski. At the moment, he’s not ready to do so.

“It certainly makes me think about it, and I have thought about it this summer,” Tortorella said. “I’m going to let it play out. Right now I’m going into the season with ‘Z’ and Jonesy together, and we’ll see what comes of that second pair.”

Jones had a breakout season a year ago, while Werenski had an off year, but dealt with a shoulder injury that hampered him all season. However, Tortorella hopes that others will fill in for the team’s offseason losses, including Markus Nutivaara and Ryan Murray.

“I think (Markus) Nutivaara has improved tremendously,” Tortorella said. “I think (Murray) looked different to me in the playoffs. He can’t even grow a beard yet, he’s just got this stuff all over his face, but he looked different to me. He had more of a game face than I’ve seen since I coached him. He was really good in the playoffs. Can he take those minutes? I know he wants to. I know he’s pissed at me that I don’t give him enough time at certain times, but hopefully, he stays healthy and plays with an attitude.”

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins look to be breaking up their top-four as well as the team promised to give top minutes to free-agent signee Jack Johnson, which will force the team to make some changes, according to Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Jason Mackey in a Penguins’ chat. While the team has no intention of breaking up their top defensive pair of Brian Dumoulin and Kris Letang. That means the likely second line will be Johnson and Justin Schultz, which will likely force Olli Maatta out of the top four. Maatta, who tied a career-high in 29 points last season, will likely be moved to the third pairing next to Jamie Oleksiak.
  • The Athletic’s Ryan Clark’s (subscription required) writes a Q&A interview with New Jersey Devils defenseman Will Butcher, the second-year defenseman has said he’s spent his offseason working on his shot. “My huge emphasis this summer has been on my shot from one-timers to just getting it off quicker,” Butcher said. “Just try to shoot the puck more. Look to shoot the puck more than pass.” The 23-year-old posted impressive numbers in his first year in the league, putting up five goals and 39 points last season. An impressive shot could improve his goal numbers in the future.
  •  When New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider returned from a two-month break when he was recovering from a blood clot, the 27-year-old had lost 15 pounds, which actually proved helpful to him, according to The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman (subscription required). In fact, Kreider played some of his best hockey upon his return, which could fit in well around head coach David Quinn’s new system. The scribe writes that Kreider found the perfect balance between his size, speed, strength and skill, which could carry over to this season, especially now that he’s out of Alain Vigneault’s system that focused only on his speed.

Central Notes: Blackhawks, Fabbri, Nichushkin, Greenway, Johnson

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With a significant amount of cap space remaining to them, the Chicago Blackhawks find themselves in an unusual position. The team has been very quiet this offseason, not including the trade that sent Marian Hossa to Arizona or signing Cam Ward to be the backup goaltender. However, with almost $5.5MM in cap space available to them, the Blackhawks have a number of options in front of them, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required).

The scribe writes that one option is to spend some of that money on current free agents, but aside from Rick Nash, there are few options there. With Brandon Davidson agreeing to a PTO, the team could look to add a couple more of those to bolster their roster as they do have a number of youngsters expected to make the team. If one should struggle, the team could lean on those free agents. The team could also make a deal for a player a team is looking to unload before the season starts.

Powers also adds one of the better possibilities would be to wait for the trade deadline and acquire a player then. The only issue there is that there is no guarantee that Chicago will be heading back to the playoffs. Another down season could send them back to the lottery, which means they wouldn’t want to spend that money on deadline acquisitions. Of course, the final option would be to do nothing, but regardless, the team is better off with cap room than in past years. It’s now just how they intend to spend it.

  • The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) profiles the recovery of St. Louis Blues’ winger Robby Fabbri, who missed the entire 2017-18 season after enduring a setback in his recovery during training camp last season from ACL surgery that he had after suffering a knee injury on Feb. 4, 2016. Now after two surgeries and a full year to recover, Powers shows what the 22-year-old has gone through and how he is finally ready to compete for a top-six role for the Blues this year.
  • The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro (subscription required) studies the film of Valeri Nichushkin, who had a impressive rookie season back in the 2013-14 season, then missed most of the following season. After just an average showing the next year, Nichuskin left the NHL for the KHL, but now is returning after a pair of average seasons there. Now back, Shapiro suggests that his more developed 6-foot-4 frame should be a major factor in front of the net, but that a 30-point season would be a realistic expectation for the 23-year-old as he isn’t considered to be a great finisher in front of the net.
  • The Minnesota Wild may have been quiet all offseason, but the team may make multiple lineup changes this season. One person who is likely to benefit will be Jordan Greenway. The 21-year-old signed with the Wild after a three-year stint with Boston University and is expected to jump right into the lineup, according to the StarTribune’s Sarah MacLellan. “I think he’s ready,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “ … It’s his job to lose.” Greenway appeared in 11 games for Minnesota last year, posting an assist in six regular season games, and a goal and an assist in five playoff games.
  • St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas writes that considering the strength of the team’s defense, new backup goaltender Chad Johnson should thrive in the Blues system and be able to put up solid numbers. Johnson, who struggled immensely in Buffalo last year, posting a .891 save percentage in 36 games, is likely to have a bounce back season. In fact, Thomas writes that Johnson’s career numbers are actually quite a bit better than former backup Carter Hutton, who is now in Buffalo.

Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs’ Defense, McAvoy, Bruins’ Rookies, Drouin

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With most of the media attention drawn towards the Toronto Maple Leafs’ signing of John Tavares, many people didn’t notice that the team didn’t really address their defensive issues this last offseason. The main reason for that is that general manager Kyle Dubas feels the answers to their defensive problems are more likely to be found within their own organization.

The Star’s Mark Zwolinski writes that the team has their top four of Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, Ron Hainsey and Nikita Zaitsev, but they also have an overabundance of talented blueliners who are ready to step in and fill in those final two spots as well as help out if one of those top four struggle next season. The team can look to a number of defensemen, including Travis Dermott, Igor Ozhiganov, Connor Carrick, Timothy Liljegren, Justin Holl, Jordan Subban, Andreas Borgman, Calle Rosen, Martin Marincin and Andrew Nielsen, who all have the capabilities of checking in if needed.

The scribe writes that one major advantage for all these players is they’ve had at least one year (except for Ozhiganov) of experience with defensive coach D.J. Smith, who was voted in a players’ poll as the assistant coach best suited to become a head coach.

  • After seeing Calgary Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin sign a six-year, $29.7MM deal ($4.95MM AAV) on Thursday evening, The Athletic’s Joe McDonald (subscription required) wonders what it might end up costing the Boston Bruins to lock up defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who is playing out the final year of his entry-level deal this season. If Hanifin makes that much, McAvoy, who has been quite an impact for the team already in just one-plus season, should be able to get an even bigger deal. The scribe writes that the Bruins had already started extension talks at $6MM over seven years, but are more likely to work out an even longer-term deal after this season, which could be an eight-year deal between $7.5MM and $8MM.
  • In a team preview, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) writes that it looks like a rookie will be centering the Boston Bruins’ third line next season after having Riley Nash centering it last season. It just comes down to who wins that job between Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Trent Frederic and Jack Studnicka. All are expected to have significantly better offensive skills than Nash, but all have no NHL experience so far. The 21-year-old Forsbacka-Karlsson was inconsistent in his first season in the AHL last year. The 20-year-old Frederic is considered to be more of a grinder after two seasons at the University of Wisconsin, while the 19-year-old Studnicka still lacks both size and strength and may not be ready for an NHL role yet, despite excellent offensive skills. If none are ready, Sean Kuraly or Chris Wagner would have to assume the role.
  • Patrick Hickey of the Montreal Gazette, in a series on key players the Montreal Canadiens need to get a better season from, suggests that the team must get a major improvement out of center Jonathan Drouin this season. One reason the highly-touted Drouin struggled was because the 23-year-old spent the previous summer training with Max Pacioretty with the assumption they would be linemates, but learned early on that they weren’t very compatible together as well as the fact that some within the organization felt he would be a better winger, while others wanted him playing center. Now, a full-time center, Drouin has been training for this season all offseason. “Last year, I came in and I had no feel for what was going on,” Drouin said earlier this week. “As the year went on, I felt more comfortable knowing what do in some areas, at some points in the game. At the end of the year, things were starting to work out and I want to continue like that.”

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Ottawa Senators

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Ottawa Senators

Current Cap Hit: $73,463,333 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Thomas Chabot (two years, $863K)
F Brady Tkachuk (three years, $925K)
F Colin White (one year, $925K)
D Christian Wolanin (one year, $925K)

Potential Bonuses:

Chabot: $360K
Tkachuk: $2.5MM
White: $850K

Total: $3.71MM

Tkachuk decided last month to forego the remainder of his college commitment to turn pro now.  While he could ultimately wind up in the AHL or OHL (London has his rights), it’s likely that they will give him a good look at training camp to see if he can make an impact right away.  White’s first full professional season had some ups and downs as he had difficulties staying healthy while he didn’t make as much of an impact in the minors as some would have hoped.  However, with the team firmly in rebuilding mode, there’s a good chance he’ll land a regular spot in the lineup but he will likely have to work his way up from the bottom which means he likely won’t hit most of his bonuses.

Chabot is their top defenseman of the future (and depending on what happens with the Erik Karlsson trade talks, potentially the present as well).  His rookie season saw him struggle at times but he took some steps forward in his development.  Given how important he’s going to be for them, it wouldn’t be surprising if Ottawa looks to try to sign him to an early extension next summer before he can really command top dollar.  Wolanin signed last season following the completion of his college campaign and acquitted himself well for the most part.  He could benefit from more time in the minors but given their depth on the back end, he could wind up doing all of his development with the big club.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Paul Carey ($700K, UFA)
D Cody Ceci ($4.3MM, RFA)
F Matt Duchene ($6MM, UFA)
F Ryan Dzingel ($1.8MM, UFA)
D Erik Karlsson ($6.5MM, UFA)
F Max McCormick ($650K, UFA)
D Magnus Paajarvi ($900K, UFA)
F Tom Pyatt ($1.1MM, UFA)
F Mark Stone ($7.35MM, UFA)
D Chris Wideman ($1MM, UFA)

It’s a little scary to be an Ottawa fan with the number of prominent players they have on expiring deals.  Stone is one of the top two-way players in the league and eclipsed the point per game mark for the first time last season.  He’s a quality top line player now and should command north of $8MM on the open market if he has a comparable performance – are the Sens ready to make that type of commitment?  If not, he becomes a strong candidate to be dealt.  Duchene didn’t produce quite as intended after they paid an exceptional premium to acquire him midway through last season.  With the demand for centers on the market, he will likely garner a bit of a raise as well.  While he’s a local player, will he want to commit to a long-term rebuilding process?  If he isn’t, then he also becomes a trade candidate.

Among the other forwards set to hit the open market, Dzingel is somewhat notable as well.  He quietly put up a 23-goal season in 2017-18 and quality secondary scorers can get rewarded nicely in free agency.  He could potentially double his current AAV with another season of 20 or more tallies.  Pyatt’s case is likely tied to Guy Boucher’s fate behind the bench as the winger has followed his head coach a few times over the years but even if he sticks around, it should be around his current price.  Paajarvi did enough after being claimed from St. Louis to warrant another look but he’s a depth player that shouldn’t be looking at a big raise next summer while Carey and McCormick will battle for the end-of-roster positions.

Then there’s Karlsson’s case.  While he wasn’t at his best compared to previous seasons, he was still among the top point producing defensemen in the league while logging nearly 27 minutes a night of ice time.  He’s still a legitimate number one defender and with Drew Doughty and Oliver Ekman-Larsson signing extensions already, he now stands alone as the top blueliner for the 2019 free agent class.  It has been reported that he turned down an extension offer close to what Doughty received (eight years, $88MM) so it’s hard to envision the two sides working out a new contract for him to stick around.  He has been part of plenty of trade speculation already and that’s only going to intensify in the weeks and months to come if something isn’t worked out by training camp.

Ceci surprised a surprisingly high arbitration award this summer, likely in large part due to him playing top pairing minutes at over 23 per game.  Given the shape of their back end, that’s likely to be the case again in 2018-19 which will only bolster his arbitration case next offseason.  With that in mind, he has to at least be considered as a non-tender candidate next summer if he struggles this upcoming season.  Wideman got off to a strong start offensively last year before tearing his hamstring that took him out for the rest of the year.  He’ll get a chance to lock down a regular role with some power play time which will certainly boost his free agency case a year from now.

Two Years Remaining

G Craig Anderson ($4.75MM, UFA)
F Mikkel Boedker ($4MM, UFA)
D Mark Borowiecki ($1.2MM, UFA)
G Mike Condon ($2.4MM, UFA)
F Clarke MacArthur ($4.65MM, UFA)
F Jean-Gabriel Pageau ($3.1MM, UFA)

The Senators picked up Boedker as part of the Mike Hoffman trade with the Sharks.  While he struggled for the most part in San Jose, he’s only two years removed from a 51-point season and should have more opportunities to produce in Ottawa.  If that doesn’t work out, his salary is down to $3MM for each of the remaining two years which is notable for a lower-budget team.  Pageau is a capable third line center that’s above average at the faceoff dot.  While this deal looked a bit pricey in the past, it’s certainly fair value now.  MacArthur continues to deal with concussion troubles and isn’t likely to play again.

Borowiecki is capable of playing on the third pairing but even with their defensive depth eroding, he’s not likely going to move up the depth chart.  Even so, a regular third pairing player making $1.2MM isn’t bad value.

Anderson signed this deal early last season when the team was thought to be more of a contender (and he was coming off of a good year).  Now, this is a bit of an overpayment for someone whose numbers make him look like more of a platoon player than a true starter.  Condon also struggled last season but he has shown himself to be capable of handling a larger workload than most backups and with the increase in backup salaries the last couple of years, his deal isn’t particularly outlandish.

Read more

Snapshots: Panarin, Forbort, Monahan, Montour

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Although the Rangers and Blackhawks have linked as potential landing spots for Blue Jackets winger Artemi Panarin, Sean Shapiro of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Stars are also on Panarin’s shortlist of preferred destinations.  Shapiro adds that the team believes that they could have the cap room long-term to have both Panarin and fellow pending UFA Tyler Seguin on long-term contracts but that there would likely need to be roster casualties to do so.  Columbus has been fielding trade interest in the Russian winger but they have been receiving futures-based packages, something they don’t seem interested in doing at this time.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Kings defenseman Derek Forbort sustained a back injury over the summer, GM Rob Blake told reporters, including Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider. The issue is unrelated to the knee injury he had last season but the team will need to evaluate him when he reports to training camp to determine if he’ll miss any time.
  • Flames center Sean Monahan has fully recovered from the lengthy list of surgeries he underwent back in April, notes Aaron Vickers of NHL.com. The 23-year-old was shut down late last season and had wrist, groin and two hernia surgeries shortly thereafter.  Fortunately for Calgary, he has been taking part in informal team skates in advance of training camp and they will need Monahan as his best as they hope that a bolstered top line will help them get back to the postseason.
  • While the Ducks and defenseman Brandon Montour ultimately settled on a two-year bridge contract, they did discuss a long-term pact, Montour acknowledged to John Matisz of theScore. However, they weren’t able to find something that worked for both sides which isn’t particularly surprising as the 24-year-old only has one full NHL season under his belt so a short-term pact was the likeliest outcome.  That will likely be the case as well for their last RFA in winger Nick Ritchie.

2018-19 Season Primer: Winnipeg Jets

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With the NHL season now just a month away, it’s time to look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Today, we focus on the Winnipeg Jets.

Last Season: 52-20-10 record (114 points), second in the Central Division (lost to Vegas in the third round, beat Nashville in the second round, beat Minnesota in the first round)

Remaining Cap Space: $10.24MM per CapFriendly (still need to re-sign G Eric Comrie and D Josh Morrissey)

Key Newcomer: G Laurent Brossoit (free agency, Edmonton)

Key Departures: F Joel Armia (trade with Montreal), D Toby Enstrom (free agency, Sweden), F Matt Hendricks (free agency, Minnesota), G Michael Hutchinson (free agency, Florida), G Steve Mason (trade with Montreal), F Shawn Matthias (free agency, unsigned), F Paul Stastny (free agency, Vegas)

[Related: Jets Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Player To Watch: D Jacob Trouba – With last season being a contract year, many eyes were on Trouba to see if he could take that next step forward coming off of a career season in 2016-17.  Instead, he battled injury trouble with an ankle issue and a concussion and wound up playing in a career-low 55 games.  Accordingly, the Jets didn’t appear to be ready to commit to him long-term and the sides wound up going through arbitration with Trouba receiving a $5MM award.

Now, the 24-year-old finds himself in the exact same situation as last season as he’s once again in a contract year with arbitration eligibility in the summer.  Will he be able to have that breakthrough year and show the Jets that he’s worthy of a big-ticket contract to make him the focal point of their back end?

If that doesn’t happen, then even more questions are going to be raised about his future.  His previous contract negotiations haven’t exactly been the smoothest and he’ll hit next summer being one year away from UFA eligibility.  If a long-term deal with Winnipeg isn’t in the cards, then all of a sudden, Trouba becomes a strong trade candidate.  As a result, not only will he be trying to show the Jets he’s worthy of a long-term deal, he could very well be showcasing himself around the league with his play next season as well.

Key Storyline: We may only be in September, ten months away from the next free agent period but it’s safe to say that GM Kevin Cheveldayoff’s activity in 2018-19 will be with July of 2019 at the forefront of his thought process.

Joining Trouba as core players on expiring contracts are defenseman Tyler Myers (UFA) plus wingers Patrik Laine (RFA), Kyle Connor (RFA), and Blake Wheeler (UFA).  Those are a lot of key cogs in need of new deals and they’re going to have some challenges locking all of them up and staying under the cap.

Winnipeg presently has a little over $44MM on the books for ten players in 2019-20, an amount that will go up by a few million once Morrissey’s deal gets done.  Laine could conceivably get ten times his current AAV ($925K), Connor could go from $925K to between $5MM and $7MM, while the other three will undoubtedly be seeking raises as well.  Put it all together and there’s a cap crunch on the horizon.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Winnipeg looks to try to shed some payroll throughout the season.  Their move to give Armia to Montreal to take Mason’s contract off the books gives them plenty of wiggle room for 2018-19 but sooner than later, they’re going to have to take steps to create some more space for 2019-20 and beyond.

Overall Outlook: Despite losing Stastny, Winnipeg heads into the upcoming season with high expectations.  The core that was there for all of last year remains intact and the continued development of some of their key youngsters should help offset Stastny’s departure.  As things stand, the Jets have to be considered as one of the top threats in the Western Conference.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top